Millions of people of all ages suffer from incontinence of the bowel or bladder. Whether an infant, adult, or elderly person, the underlying cause of incontinence varies but the method of treatment typically involves absorbent article products. Adult incontinent briefs, disposable diapers, pull-up diapers, protective underwear and underpads can alleviate some of the emotional and physical discomfort of incontinence by absorbing and containing liquid and other discharges from the human body to prevent body and clothing soiling.
Typical absorbent articles include a topsheet facing the wearer that permits fluid exudates to pass through and a backsheet that prevents the exudates from escaping from the absorbent article. Much advancement has been made in the art since the introduction of the disposable absorbent article, as shown, for example, in applicant's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/832,965, which is incorporated by reference herein. However, quality care for patients and other users of absorbent articles requires that the article be changed after being wetted, and most of these articles are not adapted to aid the caregiver in the monitoring of the status of the article.
A number of devices and wetness detecting systems have been attempted to report when a diaper, bedding, or adult incontinence article becomes wet due to incontinence. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,421,636, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a patient monitoring system that detects wetness in an absorbent article. However, such devices may be improved in various ways as set forth herein.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.